loulen

Renate Hiller - "On Handwork"

2010-08-19T14:37:00.000-07:00

Re-organizing Again:

2010-08-13T12:15:00.000-07:00

is my life's work.

(Center for Chaos research)

A friend of mine, Angela White will come by tomorrow to discuss a possible photo shoot in my studio. Where do I begin to organize: shall I rehang all my pictures and paint several shelves and build some framing around the french doors (which has been missing for a few years) should I rearrange my books by color, vacuum and mop the floor, throw away papers and stop blogging (by the way...)
Time for tea.

Bicycle Movement

2010-08-13T11:54:00.000-07:00

I am excited by everything bicycle related. I am in awe of people who ride their bike all the time and not jump into their car for every errand. I can see more and more bikes-
some have really fantastic designs.
Where I grew up in Germany, it was so common to ride your bike and still is of course. To be honest, I am not an avid rider myself. I often fear the cars and traffic and also run into the dilemma of poor planning/not enough time so I jump back into the car. Now, my son is old enough to ride his bike next to me and this should give me more incentive...

A really dear friend of ours had a bike accident last week and broke her leg. It was/is quite a shock. She will be alright but it will be a slow and burdensome recovery. We think of her a lot!!!
A reminder again to be so extra careful out there-

Two more things bike related:
My friend and neighbor at the Temescal Farmer's Market, Nan Eastep, makes beautiful, elegant and functional bike attire. Check out her website: www.bspoketailor.com

Also, I will have a lot more bicycle messenger purses in the fall in natural and in black.

TWO

2010-08-11T12:49:00.000-07:00

Two month ago, roughly I longed for an overcast, moody day- you know one on which you can drink lots of tea, listen to all your old favorites and get a lot of work done...
Be aware of what you wish for we are in our 5th week of foggy mornings, even drizzle and I am longing for heat. If we are lucky today we might get a bit of sun during lunch
and I can't wait.
(oops-in one of the blogger tips by someone it was advised not to blog about the weather and here I go just to bore you a bit with such everydayness...)

New Endeavors

2010-08-02T16:29:00.000-07:00

I am taking a How to Start Your Own Business class. This class is only a prerequisite to taking a longer business planning seminar but it is already really digging deeper into business ready-ness and what it takes to do the planning before to dive into your dream.
I am (I must say) extremely excited and this feeling goes both ways: I am panicked and exhilarated.
Panicked because it makes me actually sit down and put to paper some of myriad and sometimes lofty ideas and exhilarated because I believe that I can actually do this and then of course panicked again because it needs so much planning.
What is my business idea?
My business idea is to have an open studio and show room to make and sell my own hand-made totes and accessories such as belt, pillows, pouches and more and also to show case and sell other fabulous innovative artist's and crafter's goods such as small scale art and drawing, clothes, books, food goods, etc.
And all of this in Berkeley.
Yeah Right.
yeah right...

Summer Bags

2010-08-02T16:10:00.000-07:00

Maira Kalman

2010-07-18T09:14:00.001-07:00

I just saw this talk by an amazing artist: Maira Kalman. I will share it here with you.

Purses with Flaps

2010-06-16T15:04:00.000-07:00

These smallish messenger style flap purses are doing really well at the Farmer's Markets and are really fun to make as well.

It is one of these

2010-06-16T14:56:00.000-07:00

mornings during which I don't quite know where I am. It is very bright and warm outside here in Berkeley but my mind hums somewhere else. I guess this photo above describes the mood well.

We are BACK

2010-06-01T09:43:00.000-07:00

We had a full, adventurous and family intensive time in Hamburg.
Here are some pics-and I will add some more as time goes by...

2010-05-02T22:22:00.000-07:00

My son and I will fly to Hamburg/Germany tomorrow midday. We are more than excited and a bit giddy. I will still have to do the packing but in my mind I am already above the clouds. Unfortunately our C will not join us on this trip-I guess we will have to write to him and call him all the time- During my stay I will try collect pictures and ideas and post either during my trip or right after.
Until then-
b

Sometimes WE like it BOLD

2010-04-19T09:26:00.001-07:00

WE as in you all who like it bright and modern and geometric...
Patterns are seducing me all the time. I might almost say that they come to me rather than I will search them out. They hit me over the head. I don't have a particular favorite era in mind or style. To me it is like having an intuitive dialogue with a pattern. It speaks to me in its color or design language and if it hits the spot I will include it into my collection of handmade items.
It can be a very bright color or a floral or vintage design, even kitschy or quite the opposite: classic or geometric and modern. I can't even say that everything will
go with everything because that's not it for me- but it is a daily mood or a memory which will trigger my love for certain patterns.
I am not trained as a designer so I learn as I go about different design eras and styles but for the most part this is not so important to me as a maker.
I Love the Bauhaus period and the design philosophy that came along with it in its earlier years and this probably influences and informs my choices quite a bit. And then there is the "everyday" (we live in 2010 and not in the 1920/s) and all the visual stimuli that we take in all around us.

Here is a link to a Bauhaus artist whom I admire:
http://www.albersfoundation.org/
Click on the Gallery link and then look at Anni Albers' beautiful textiles...

More Music - Mehr Musik

2010-04-13T17:19:00.000-07:00

I guess this is my music week - I read about Sophia Hunger in a German paper and liked her music right away. It is surprisingly subtle but intense. Es geht unter die Haut...
On her website she notes: Music is never authentic.
I feel this way about most forms of expressions...

Hamburg/Altona

2010-04-13T14:49:00.000-07:00

I grew up in Hamburg/Altona in Germany and this city still holds a special place in my heart. I met a fabulous jewelry designer recently, Adjowah Brodie and she made this necklace for me. She reuses parts of maps, vintage typewriter keys, illustrations and more. You can see her jewelry here:
http://www.theweekendstore.com/
I have been wearing this necklace for days now and feel somewhat ready for a visit to Hamburg...

A Taste of Honey // Beatles Please

2010-04-11T19:14:00.000-07:00

Here is something sweet for your ears.
The Beatles played this song at one of their debut concert at the Star Club in Hamburg/Germany. I believe it was in 1968. For my son Louis, this is more than a 100 years ago. So it seems. Or maybe it was yesterday.

Rainy Sunday

2010-04-11T18:39:00.000-07:00

We had a rainy and windy Sunday. Now the sun is peaking through the clouds and everything looks crisp and clean. This picture was actually taken a while ago but I still like it and feel that it describes the light and the mood of this day.

2

2010-04-07T15:37:00.000-07:00

I created the Loulen blog last year on February 9th and I blogged twice.
New intentions, new ideas, more time?
Ideas about the blog:
to log in-process work
to contemplate the hand made
to share thoughts
to connect with artists and crafters around the world
to organize ideas
to ramble (hopefully not too much)

The messenger bag above was made as a custom order. I will have more bags with flaps soon in my online store.

April 2010

2010-04-05T15:28:00.000-07:00

Happy Spring!

These soft rocks are made out off recycled sweaters and clothes. They are filled with lavender and flax seeds.